Thursday, January 24, 2008

Blues 2 Canucks 3 (SO)

After stopping Andy Macdonald in the shootout and winning the game for the Canucks, Roberto Luongo skated out of his net and did a little fist pump. The rest of the team skated out, greeted him and patted each other in the back. The losing streak was over and everyone was excited and relieved.To me, the most telling part of the game was just how much the fans stuck with the team, even when they were trailing in the third period. There was no bronx cheer from the crowd, even after a Louie gave up a couple of un-Luon-god-like goals, but instead, plenty of encouragement. Maybe we're beginning to shake off our reputation as a goalie graveyard after all.The Canucks needed that win. If they had lost, they would have entered the All-Star break with five straight losses with the possibility that Columbus and Nashville would knock them down to 10th in the Western Conference. As it stands, they have a three-point lead on both teams and a chance to rest easy for a week.More from the mainstream: